Oil & Gas Rig Counts Continue to Slide as Output Grows

The Canadian rig count fell from 655 to 580 in the week, and has fallen by 75, from an identical total of 655, year-over-year.

The number of U.S. oil rigs rose by 8 in the week, to 1,341, while the number of natural gas rigs fell by 13 to 407. In Canada, the oil rig count fell by 58 to 451 and the gas rig count fell by 17 to 129 for the week.

Among U.S. states, Texas saw its rig count fall by 6 week-over-week to 835, and Louisiana’s count rose by 2 to 106. For the year, the Texas count is down by 94, while Louisiana is down by 31 and Pennsylvania is down by 29.

U.S. oil rig counts have dropped from 1,408 at the end of October to 1,341 as of today, down about 4.7%. The gas rig count is down from 416 to 407, a drop of about 2%.

Oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico are down from a peak of 37 in mid-January, but remain higher than at any time last year at a total of 35. Counts have been sliding for three consecutive weeks as North American producers have adopted more efficient drilling techniques and increased output from fewer rigs.